have knocked it to bits. At last I pulled the trigger,
the gun went off with the report of a small cannon, and the buck
disappeared. I ran to the spot with more anxiety than I should have felt
in an ordinary way over a koodoo or an eland. To my delight there the
little creature lay--the huge bullet had decapitated it. Considering all
the circumstances I do not think I have often made a better shot than
this, but if any one doubts, let him try his hand at a rabbit's head
fifty yards away with an elephant gun and a three-ounce ball.

I picked up the Petie in triumph, and returned to the camp. There we
skinned him and toasted his flesh over the fire. He just made a good
meal for us, though we kept the hind legs for breakfast.

There was no moon this night, and so it chanced that when I suddenly
remembered about the lion spoor, and suggested that we had better tie
up the horses quite close to us, we could not find them, though we knew
they were grazing within fifty yards. This being so we could only make
up the fire and take our chance. Shortly afterwards I went to sleep
with little Tota in my arms. Suddenly I was awakened by hearing that
peculiarly painful sound, the scream of a horse, quite close to the
fire, which was still burning brightly. Next second there came a noise
of galloping hoofs, and before I could even rise my poor horse appeared
in the ring of firelight. As in a flash of lightning I saw his staring
eyes and wide-stretched nostrils, and the broken reim with which he had
been knee-haltered, flying in the air. Also I saw something else, for on
his back was a great dark form with glowing eyes, and from the form came
a growling sound. It was a lion.

The horse dashed on. He galloped right through the fire, for which he
had run in his terror, fortunately, however, without treading on us, and
vanished into the night. We heard his hoofs for a hundred yards or more,
then there was silence, broken now and again by distant growls. As may
be imagined, we did not sleep any more that night, but waited anxiously
till the dawn broke, two hours later.

As soon as there was sufficient light we rose, and, leaving Tota
still asleep, crept cautiously in the direction in which the horse had
vanished. When we had gone fifty yards or so, we made out its remains
lying on the veldt, and caught sight of two great cat-like forms
slinking away in the grey light.

To go any further was useless; we knew all about it now, so we turned